Violent explosions shook the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Sunday morning, for the first time in nearly two months, causing casualties, while the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had bombed a missile factory in Kyiv.
Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that one person was killed and 6 others, including a girl, were injured, as a result of Russian missile strikes on Shevchenkivsky district in central Kyiv.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Al Jazeera that the bombing carries a message, because it comes before the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit scheduled to be held in Madrid on Tuesday, just like a previous attack targeting civilian buildings in conjunction with the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Kyiv and his meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry said that it had bombed the "Artyom" missile factory in Kyiv, and explained that the damage to a neighboring apartment building was caused by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile, denying reports that it had bombed a residential area.
The ministry explained that it destroyed the training centers of the Ukrainian army with "Kaliber" missiles launched from the Black Sea in the Chernihiv, Zhytomyr and Lviv regions.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that two mechanized infantry brigades and a mobile brigade from the strategic reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were destroyed by Russian missile strikes.
The Russian spokesman noted the downing of two Ukrainian Su-25 and MiG-29 fighters, the destruction of 8 Ukrainian marches, and the liquidation of more than 720 Ukrainian nationalists, with air, missile and artillery strikes.
Armament requests
On the other hand, Adviser to the Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Sak told Al Jazeera that Ukraine needs, as soon as possible, to obtain effective and modern air defense systems and anti-missile systems, given the intensity of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine.
He added that Belarus is as guilty as Russia in its war on Ukraine, as it has allowed since the beginning of the war to use its territory and air bases to strike Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities.
Meanwhile, Reuters quoted sources as saying that Washington may this week announce the purchase of an advanced long-range missile defense system for Ukraine.
These developments coincide with the convening of the Group of Seven summit on Sunday in the Bavarian Alps region in Germany, in which leaders' statements were repeated about the need to confront Russia and increase sanctions against it.
During the summit, US President Joe Biden described the Russian bombings as "barbaric", while Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said that the G7 should respond by providing more weapons to Kiev and imposing tougher sanctions on Moscow.